“Undefeated,” another Oscar nominee, and other features
and documentaries released by the studio, which was founded by
brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, will make their pay-TV debut
on Los Gatos, California-based Netflix, according to a
statement. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

The agreement generates cash for Weinstein Co., which is
seeking to raise $150 million to support film operations and
retire debt, two people with knowledge of the effort said this
week. For Netflix, it gives the company more exclusive content
to fend off streaming rivals such as Time Warner Inc.’s HBO
unit, online retailer Amazon.com and Hulu LLC.

“The content lets Netflix differentiate itself from
competitors like Amazon Prime, or pay TV like HBO,” Justin
Colatosti, an analyst with Dawson James Securities in Boca
Raton, Florida, said in a telephone interview.

Netflix isn’t adding subscribers fast enough to cover the
rising cost of content, said Colatosti, who has a “sell”
rating on the shares.

Future Offerings

The company plans to offer at least five exclusive original
series on its service by the middle of 2013, Ted Sarandos, chief
content officer, has said. The company also is spending more to
lock up movie rights to compete with HBO, which in the past has
signed licensing contracts with major studios to air their
movies exclusively for years after they enter the pay TV window.

Netflix is in a race to acquire new streaming-only
customers to balance rising content costs and fund international
expansion, Steve Swasey, a company spokesman, said.

“The more subscribers we get, the more revenue we have to
buy content,” Swasey said in a telephone interview last week.
“It’s a virtuous cycle.”

The company faces increasing competition from so-called TV
everywhere offerings from cable, satellite and telephone
providers. Comcast Corp. today with its new Xfinity Streampix
service joined Dish Network Corp.’s Blockbuster Movie Pass in
offering a subscription service to their pay-TV customers.

Verizon Communications is teaming up with Coinstar Inc.’s
Redbox DVD rental kiosk business for a joint streaming and DVD
service that will be available to anyone in the U.S. with a
broadband-Internet connection.

Netflix fell 3.7 percent to $117.40 at the close in New
York. The shares have risen 69 percent this year.